Maintaining Team Leadership

Once the project has been launched, the meeting schedule established, and the project team has developed a routine for completing, reporting, and finishing assignments, it s tempting to relax and let the project take care of itself. Unfortunately, as Figure 11-4 shows, projects won t lead themselves to the finish line ”the project manager has to.

Figure 11-4: Projects require the project manager s constant attention.

A constant flux of problems, scenarios, lagging tasks , and technology challenges will be lurking just beneath the surface no matter how calm things may appear. The project manager must lead the team around the pitfalls, past the traps, and over the hurdles to finish the project. This requires a project manager with many talents, abilities , and experience. So what is the ideal project manager as a leader?

Background and Experience

When it comes to information technology, experience means practically everything. An IT project manager may see project management as a logical segue into a management position with a company ”and certainly it can be. But to be a great IT project manager, experience within the technology sector is needed. By relating personally to the technology, a level of respect is gained not only by the project team but also by management. Your experience in the IT field will allow your guiding hand to nudge the project back in alignment with the project s goals. Some IT professionals, however, may be lacking in the interpersonal skills, tact, and charm that is sometimes required to motivate and lead a group of individuals.

For other IT professionals, it may be difficult to surrender the workload to the project team. They may discover it s difficult to assert their authority and to rely on someone else to complete the implementation. It may behoove these professionals to take a management course such as Dale Carnegie Training to enhance their ability as a manager.

But what of project managers who come from other industries? Perhaps they ve joined a company to become a project manager within the IT field, but their experience is based on a traditional managerial background. How can these individuals relate to the technology and the type of people who excel with technology?

These individuals will have to rely on their skills as managers to relate to and lead a project team. They will need to rely heavily on the subject matter experts on their team to give them accurate information. They are also going to have to work with the project team to learn about the technology they are implementing to gain technology experience. It may be helpful for these professionals to enroll in a course on the technology being implemented to understand the process of the implementation from a technician s point of view.

Of course, the best project managers, which there is always a demand for, are the rare individuals who have years of technology experience but also have the keen ability to work and lead the project team. Figure 11-5 demonstrates the ideal balance of managerial experience and technical background for any IT project manager. You can become one of these professionals regardless of where you are in your career right now. The secret is to identify the areas of your career where you may be lacking and then seek out projects and opportunities to gain experience with the technology or the management position.

Figure 11-5: Managerial and technical experience is necessary for IT project managers.

Industry Certifications

Regardless of where you are in your career, experienced or still striving to achieve, industry certifications can underscore your commitment to your field. When it comes to technology certifications, you have many choices: Microsoft, Novell, CompTIA, Cisco, Lotus, and many more are offered . Technical certifications are usually earned from years of experience and the passing of one or several exams, depending on the vendor sponsoring the exam.

Certifications related to project management are also available, such as CompTIA s IT Project+, and the Project Management Institute s Project Management Professional certifications. These certifications show a dedication to the career path of project management. A combination of technical certifications and the project management certifications is ideal for any IT project manager. (The exam objectives for CompTIA s IT Project+ can be found in Appendix A.)

Web Sites for Certification Information

Here are just a few of the many web sites that can provide additional information on technology and project management certifications:

• Cisco www.cisco.com/warp/public/10/wwtraining/

• Microsoft www.microsoft.com/traincert/default.asp

• Novell www.novell.com/education/certinfo

• Oracle www.oracle.com/education/certification

• Lotus www.lotus.com/home.nsf/welcome/certification

• Project Management Institute www.pmi.org/certification

• CompTIA www.comptia.com/certification/index.htm